AWK vs AQN vs AWR Stock Comparison

American Water Works Company, Algonquin Power & Utilities and American States Water Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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AWR American States Water Co
$85.45 +2.6% 1M +11.6% 1Y
Market cap
$3.35B
P/E
23.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$697.48M
Div. yield
–
Water Utilities Utilities
8 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

American States Water leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (American States Water 8, American Water Works Company 2, Algonquin Power & Utilities 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAWKAQNAWRLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $27.76B $4.12B $3.35B AWK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 24.6x 29.6x 23.4x AWR
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 24.9x 15.9x 22.6x AQN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.9% +5.7% +13.2% AWR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 21.3% 11.5% 20.5% AWK
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.2% 3.4% 9.2% AWR
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.5x 7.0x 2.8x AWR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.07% 0.00% AQN
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +0.1% -6.9% +11.6% AWR
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.1%/yr -18.6%/yr -0.9%/yr AWR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 22.9% 25.7% 20.6% AWR
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 58/100 61/100 AWR

Percentile Scorecard

AWKAQNAWR

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAWKAQNAWR
Valuation 6 #63 of 67 79 #15 of 67 21 #53 of 67
Growth 61 #26 of 65 69 #21 of 65 92 #6 of 65
Profitability 95 #4 of 65 66 #23 of 65 98 #2 of 65
Financial Health 51 #33 of 66 39 #41 of 66 85 #11 of 66
Shareholder Returns 61 #27 of 67 38 #42 of 67 6 #63 of 67
Overall 55 58 61
  • AWK ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • AQN ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • AWR ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAWKAQNAWRSPY
1 month +7.3%+6.5%+2.6% -1.0%
3 months +6.0%-11.3%-1.1% +2.9%
6 months +7.8%-14.8%+7.6% +6.4%
Year to date +9.4%-12.2%+17.9% +11.4%
1 year +0.1%-6.9%+11.6% +13.1%
3 years +21.2%+6.9%+10.2% +79.4%
3 years, per year +6.6%+2.3%+3.3% +21.5%
5 years -18.8%-64.3%-4.5% +67.7%
5 years, per year -4.1%-18.6%-0.9% +10.9%
10 years +99.4%-39.5%+125.4% +255.2%
10 years, per year +7.1%-4.9%+8.5% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureAWKAQNAWRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 22.9%25.7%20.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 21.4%28.3%20.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.480.23-0.29 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.01-0.270.56 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -39.7%-73.3%-35.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -0.3%-22.6%-6.2% -2.5%
52-week high $143.25$6.98$91.11 $779.14
52-week low $121.13$4.99$70.10 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAWKAQNAWR
P/E now vs peer median 24.8xmedian 20.8x 29.8xmedian 20.8x 23.5xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 5.4xmedian 2.8x 3.4xmedian 2.8x 4.9xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.3xmedian 13.1x 11.4xmedian 13.1x 15.2xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median -27.5xmedian 36.7x 26.0xmedian 36.7x 163.3xmedian 36.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.4xmedian 1.7x 0.8xmedian 1.7x 3.0xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 3.15median 2.27 0.85median 2.27 5.04median 2.27

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAWKAQNAWR
Revenue $5.28B $1.21B $697.48M
Gross profit – -$435.80M $635.88M
Operating income $1.95B $525.40M $222.11M
Net income $1.13B $167.50M $143.13M
Free cash flow -$1.03B $159.40M $20.75M
EPS (diluted) $5.76 $0.18 $3.63
Cash & equivalents $191.00M $55.00M $21.66M
Total debt $15.99B $6.64B $3.17B
Shares (diluted) 196.00M 772.41M 39.48M
Enterprise value $27.16B $3.92B $3.26B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAWKAQNAWR
P/E 24.8x 29.8x 23.5x
P/FCF -27.5x 26.0x 163.3x
P/Operating cash flow 12.2x 4.0x 14.3x
P/S 5.4x 3.4x 4.9x
P/B 2.4x 0.8x 3.0x
P/Tangible book 2.4x 0.8x 3.0x
EV/EBITDA 15.3x 11.4x 15.2x
EV/EBIT 22.6x 20.4x 18.7x
EV/Revenue 8.4x 8.9x 6.0x
EV/FCF -42.9x 67.3x 200.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.9x 10.5x 17.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.15 0.85 5.04

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAWKAQNAWR
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.9% 5.7% 13.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 9.3% -5.3% 6.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 5.7% 13.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 6.1% 6.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 8.3% 14.0% 16.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 11.0% -5.8% 7.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 4.2% 112.7% 14.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 8.1% 52.3% 6.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 3.6% 153.3% 12.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 7.9% 35.1% 4.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 19.7% 6.7% -0.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.8% 11.6% 44.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -13.4% -45.1% 730.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -7.5% 28.6% 30.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAWKAQNAWR
Gross margin – -36.1% 91.2%
EBITDA margin 54.6% 77.8% 39.2%
Operating margin 36.9% 43.6% 31.8%
Pretax margin 27.3% 16.2% 27.0%
Net margin 21.3% 11.5% 20.5%
FCF margin -19.5% 13.2% 3.0%
Operating cash flow margin 44.2% 85.2% 33.9%
Return on equity 9.9% 1.5% 13.1%
Return on assets 3.1% – 5.2%
Return on invested capital 6.2% 3.4% 9.2%
Return on capital employed 6.0% – 8.8%
Asset turnover 0.1x – 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.1x 6.1x 1.7x
Stock comp / revenue – 1.0% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAWKAQNAWR
Debt / assets 43.9% 47.7% 28.5%
Debt / equity 1.4x 1.3x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.5x 7.0x 2.8x
Debt / FCF -15.5x 41.6x 38.1x
Liabilities / assets 68.0% 64.3% 59.6%
Equity / assets 32.0% 35.7% 40.4%
Interest coverage 3.0x 1.9x 4.7x
Current ratio 0.5x 0.9x 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.3x 0.4x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.1x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 1.07 0.18 2.07

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAWKAQNAWR
Dividend yield 2.4% 5.2% 2.4%
Net buyback yield – -0.2% -2.4%
Shareholder yield 2.4% 5.0% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 58.3% 180.2% –
Payout ratio (FCF) -63.9% 189.3% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 8.0% -30.8% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 9.9% -17.9% –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAWKAQNAWR
Forward P/E 24.9xFY2026 15.9xFY2026 22.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.73FY2026 $0.34FY2026 $3.78FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +0.7%FY2026 0.0%FY2026 +12.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.6% +17.6% +5.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.14BFY2026 $2.45BFY2026 $759.00MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.0%FY2026 +0.9%FY2026 +15.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +9.9% +14.7% -4.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAWKAQNAWR
Held by institutions 100.0% 68.7% 82.8%
Institutions holding 1,128 241 408
Change in shares held, QoQ +8.0% +2.1% +3.5%
Institutions buying 530 129 233
Institutions selling 416 67 105
Buyers to sellers 1.27 1.93 2.22

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AWKAQNAWR
AWK 1.00 0.18 0.74
AQN 0.18 1.00 0.25
AWR 0.74 0.25 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AWK, AQN and AWR?

American Water Works Company (AWK) is the largest by market capitalisation: American Water Works Company (AWK) $27.76B, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) $4.12B, American States Water (AWR) $3.35B.

Which stock is cheaper, AWK, AQN and AWR?

American States Water (AWR) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (American Water Works Company (AWK) 24.6x, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) 29.6x, American States Water (AWR) 23.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) is cheapest (American Water Works Company (AWK) 24.9x, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) 15.9x, American States Water (AWR) 22.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

American States Water (AWR) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: American Water Works Company (AWK) +6.9%, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) +5.7%, American States Water (AWR) +13.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

American Water Works Company (AWK) has the highest net margin (American Water Works Company (AWK) 21.3%, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) 11.5%, American States Water (AWR) 20.5%). On return on invested capital, American States Water (AWR) leads (American Water Works Company (AWK) 6.2%, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) 3.4%, American States Water (AWR) 9.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year American States Water (AWR) returned the most: American Water Works Company (AWK) +0.1%, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) -6.9%, American States Water (AWR) +11.6%. Over five years, American States Water (AWR) compounded fastest (American Water Works Company (AWK) -4.1%/yr, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) -18.6%/yr, American States Water (AWR) -0.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) has the highest dividend yield: American Water Works Company (AWK) 0.02%, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) 0.07%, American States Water (AWR) 0.00%. American States Water (AWR) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, American States Water (AWR) has been the steadiest (American Water Works Company (AWK) 22.9%, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) 25.7%, American States Water (AWR) 20.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AWK, AQN and AWR?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, American States Water (AWR) leads on 8. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.